Re: more questions for a newbie

[Guest guest]

3. Being so new at this and still uneducated, I was shocked at some of the

comments made to me when I revealed my diagnosis to some--basically

indicating I brought this on myself for periods of being overweight. What

do people say to these folks regarding the blame issue? May I poke them a

bit or at least punch them out? (please?)

thanks!!!

Jay in Maine,

Hi Jay, I am a 47 yr. 117 LB vegetarian who was diagnosed about 16 months

ago. This illness is on both sides of my family and I believe a year of

extreme stress triggered this. I had people tell me being a vegetarian and

eating a lot of carbs is what caused it. I don't like the stereotype that's

emerging, people ask me what I weighed when diagnosed or what did I do to

trigger this. I have had to go from diet and exercise to meds in the past

month and do I feel guilty, me the skinny vegetarian who can't control her

diabetes. In my case I also had complications right away even though the

diabetes did not turn itself on until recently. I have always had my blood

sugar tested every year because of its prevalence in my family. My doctor

says its progressive and its more important to jump on it and get my sugar

down quickly than hurt myself with exercise which is what I was doing. Well

enough of my moaning, I say punch them out. <grin> Donna

[Guest guest]

Congrats on your success! You must be feeling better!

I find the entire " healthy eating " stuff a bunch of foo-foo, lol.

*I* cannot eat all that they have on the food pyramid. To me (this

is all personal opinion btw) it makes much more sense to eat more

veggies, more protein, less grains/starches and low/no med than to

eat following the food pyramid and having to up my meds. It seems

that all the successful diets out there, Atkins, zone, weight

watchers, etc, limit their starches and good things happen. I could

never lose weight eating all the servings of starches from food

pyramid, much less lower insulin levels.

BTW, you might find dieticians following the same pyramid. Each time

I had diabetes counseling for gestational, they always gave me all

these carbs. I found that when I reduced the number my bg was much

lower, so that's what I did. I think some dieticians are a few years

behind the most current research and diets.

HTH,

Debi

> Hi all,

> I am on day 7 of metaform and day 4 of glipizide and my daily BG

(I am

> getting this lingo down good!) is now 240, down from 300-400 from

the

> weekend. I still haven't seen the dietitian yet and am reading

all I can on

> healthy eating.

>

> That food pyramid is a confusing thing, I think. In this diabetic

handout

> given to me at the doctor's, it says to eat all those grains,

cereals and

> breads as the most frequent level, and the next step up is a lot

of fresh

> fruit and veggies. I am seeing that as a very mixed message, as

the bottom

> part of the pyramid is so carb heavy. What's a fellow to do??

>

[Guest guest]

Jay, the book Sugar Busters suugests that perhaps people with type 2

become overweight because the disease was starting first. I'm 32 and

just dxed in Dec, but I can remember having bouts with low sugar

before graduating high school. I really believe that I was beginning

the process for years. I am fat and get the same feeling from some,

but what about my uncle, career Army man, bever an oz fat, dxed at

40.

I look at diabetes as an opportunity to take better care of myself.

As a mom, wife and friend, I felt it to be too rude to turn down the

high-calorie foods, turn down socail engagements to excersize, etc.

Now I can say, " no thanks, you know about the diabetes " or " gee, I'd

love to do that with you, but I HAVE to do this workout -- doc's

orders! " When my kids get mad atme for leaving them for an hr, I

smile to myself, thinking of what I'm really doing for them --

giving them a healthy mamma.

On a lighter note, tell them having to deal with them each day is

what drove you to eat, lol.

Debi

>

> 3. Being so new at this and still uneducated, I was shocked at

some of the

> comments made to me when I revealed my diagnosis to some--basically

> indicating I brought this on myself for periods of being

overweight. What

> do people say to these folks regarding the blame issue? May I

poke them a

> bit or at least punch them out? (please?)

>

> thanks!!!

>

> Jay in Maine,

[Guest guest]

Jay, I am so glad to read that you're feeling better and your BG's are falling.

That's great news!

I'm a newbie myself, so you'll probably get better answers to your questions

from some of the more experienced posters here. I think, though, that stress

definitely affects BG levels--mine skyrocketed when my back went out last week.

Also, please do me a favor and sock the next person who acts as though diabetes

is a well-deserved punishment for a less-than-stellar lifestyle. That's just

crap. I hear it too, and I think you and I should make a pact to sock the next

person who says it to us. I feel better already.

Pansy

[Guest guest]

Donna,

As to the attitudes of folks around you, I stun people by telling

them that diabetes is the best thing that happened to me. It got me to

learn more about my body than I ever imagined. This usually stops them

in their tracks and they don't question me or blame me, it makes them

think about what they do not know about their own bodies. The best

defence is a good offense!

Failing that, kick a little butt, you do not need the sass.

On Thu, 15 May 2003 09:26:29 -0400 Donna writes:

3. Being so new at this and still uneducated, I was shocked at some of

the

comments made to me when I revealed my diagnosis to some--basically

indicating I brought this on myself for periods of being overweight.

What

do people say to these folks regarding the blame issue? May I poke them

a

bit or at least punch them out? (please?)

thanks!!!

Jay in Maine,

Hi Jay, I am a 47 yr. 117 LB vegetarian who was diagnosed about 16

months

ago. This illness is on both sides of my family and I believe a year of

extreme stress triggered this. I had people tell me being a vegetarian

and

eating a lot of carbs is what caused it. I don't like the stereotype

that's

emerging, people ask me what I weighed when diagnosed or what did I do to

trigger this. I have had to go from diet and exercise to meds in the past

month and do I feel guilty, me the skinny vegetarian who can't control

her

diabetes. In my case I also had complications right away even though the

diabetes did not turn itself on until recently. I have always had my

blood

sugar tested every year because of its prevalence in my family. My

doctor

says its progressive and its more important to jump on it and get my

sugar

down quickly than hurt myself with exercise which is what I was doing.

Well

enough of my moaning, I say punch them out. <grin> Donna

[Guest guest]

,

I do not know why the health care providers insist we follow

the pyramid so rigidly, if I eat all the bread and cereals they suggest,

my sugars will go up like crazy. I suspect the reason is actually

pretty simple. The " government " says so therefore it must be! After a

few years of little or no challenge from the scientific world it became

the default dietary system. Given the millennia that humans have been on

earth and how recently cultivated cereal became a part of our diet it

does not seem likely that our DNA has adapted to our modern use of

basically grass seed. I am not suggesting that we return to a

paleolithic diet but big agricultural business would like us to buy their

products. No I am not into conspiracy theories and the like. If I look

at carbohydrates ( my vice of choice was donuts) I can feel my blood

sugar going up.

" cardboard " The produce at our local supermarkets sometimes has the

taste of cardboard (dull & bland) so we now travel across town to our not

so local Haggen store (about a 35 mile round trip) to get top quality

veggies.

" Question 1 " I am happy that you get your fruits and veggies. I must

admit that both my wife and I are doing better that way.

An interesting book you my want to read is " From here to Longevity " by

Mitra Ray It has a lot of information that is contrary to conventional

wisdom yet it make sense to me.

Have fun

On Thu, 15 May 2003 22:35:59 -0500 " Dawson "

writes:

" The USDA, and note that your food pyramid is put out by the folks who

care about farmers, not consumers, is flawed as far as diabetes is

concerned. "

Why do health care providers promote it if it's bad for you? Why do they

specifically tell diabetes patients to follow it?

" 1, cut down a lot on potatoes, corn, peas, white rice, and bread.

2, eat more fish (salmon, halibut, tuna)

3, for us carnivores, Chicken 1st, Pork 2nd, and last and least Beef.

4, eat lots of salad and when you are done, eat more! weeds twigs and

cardboard have very few carbs:-) "

Well I am doing these things. What is cardboard?

" 1, yesterday, did you eat 5 servings each of raw fruits and veggies? "

I am crazy about raw veggies and many fruits. I don't think I have a

problem with that, especially with all the salad I eat.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/15/2003 7:07:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,

GlassArtist@... writes:

> Personally, I'm just following what my dietician told me which was 12-13

> carb servings a day. I haven't been doing this long enough to know if what

> I'm eating is working. She told me I could eat whatever I wanted as long

> as

> I stayed with that number of carb servings, 1500 calories and generally

> followed the pyramid.

When you say 12-13 carb servings a day do you mean just 12-13 grams of carbs

a day or 12-13 carb exchanges/servings? If you mean 12-13 total carbs that

seems WAY too low, dangerously low.....i've been advised to keep my carb

intake to about 75=90 grams a day! Some servings of 1 cup of veggies alone

has 12 grams of carbs! You can't live on that low amount, it's not healthy!

And if you mean 12-13 carb exchanges thats way too HIGH, as one exchange is

about 25 carbs (if i remember correctly, it may be 15 grams but thats still

180 and high) which would be over 300 carbs a day....which would make your BG

levels sky rocket!

Saying eat whatever you want doesn't sound right either. You should try to

watch the amount of fat grams, sodium and cholesterol. You wouldn't want to

eat too low carb only to become unhealthy from eating too much of something

else! There should be balance in what you eat in a day!

I eat 12-30 grams of carbs per meal each day! If i didn't i wouldn't be

eating anything but lettuce and drinking water. And you really can't live on

that!

[Guest guest]

However, Weight Watchers allows you to have quite a bit of starches. I was

a member a couple of years ago and I was amazed. I didn't even eat all that

they allowed.

Personally, I'm just following what my dietician told me which was 12-13

carb servings a day. I haven't been doing this long enough to know if what

I'm eating is working. She told me I could eat whatever I wanted as long as

I stayed with that number of carb servings, 1500 calories and generally

followed the pyramid. I couldn't do the Atkins diet. I'm too fond of

bread, etc.

Re: more questions for a newbie

> Congrats on your success! You must be feeling better!

>

> I find the entire " healthy eating " stuff a bunch of foo-foo, lol.

> *I* cannot eat all that they have on the food pyramid. To me (this

> is all personal opinion btw) it makes much more sense to eat more

> veggies, more protein, less grains/starches and low/no med than to

> eat following the food pyramid and having to up my meds. It seems

> that all the successful diets out there, Atkins, zone, weight

> watchers, etc, limit their starches and good things happen. I could

> never lose weight eating all the servings of starches from food

> pyramid, much less lower insulin levels.

>

> BTW, you might find dieticians following the same pyramid. Each time

> I had diabetes counseling for gestational, they always gave me all

> these carbs. I found that when I reduced the number my bg was much

> lower, so that's what I did. I think some dieticians are a few years

> behind the most current research and diets.

>

> HTH,

> Debi

>

> > Hi all,

> > I am on day 7 of metaform and day 4 of glipizide and my daily BG

> (I am

> > getting this lingo down good!) is now 240, down from 300-400 from

> the

> > weekend. I still haven't seen the dietitian yet and am reading

> all I can on

> > healthy eating.

> >

> > That food pyramid is a confusing thing, I think. In this diabetic

> handout

> > given to me at the doctor's, it says to eat all those grains,

> cereals and

> > breads as the most frequent level, and the next step up is a lot

> of fresh

> > fruit and veggies. I am seeing that as a very mixed message, as

> the bottom

> > part of the pyramid is so carb heavy. What's a fellow to do??

> >

>

>

>

>

> Diabetes homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetes/

>

> To unsubscribe to this group, send an email to:

diabetes-unsubscribe

> Hope you come back soon!

>

>

[Guest guest]

It's 12-13 carb servings at 15 grams a serving... I don't know what

" exchanges " are but if I eat two pieces of bread that come to 23 grams, I

call it a 1 1/2 carb servings. which is about 180-195 grams a day. Why

would she tell me to do this if it's bad? Quite frankly to try and cut that

in half? I don't even know how I would eat. I am hungry all the time as it

is. To go down to half that amount... please just shoot me.

Re: Re: more questions for a newbie

> In a message dated 5/15/2003 7:07:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> GlassArtist@... writes:

>

> > Personally, I'm just following what my dietician told me which was 12-13

> > carb servings a day. I haven't been doing this long enough to know if

what

> > I'm eating is working. She told me I could eat whatever I wanted as

long

> > as

> > I stayed with that number of carb servings, 1500 calories and generally

> > followed the pyramid.

>

> When you say 12-13 carb servings a day do you mean just 12-13 grams of

carbs

> a day or 12-13 carb exchanges/servings? If you mean 12-13 total carbs

that

> seems WAY too low, dangerously low.....i've been advised to keep my carb

> intake to about 75=90 grams a day! Some servings of 1 cup of veggies

alone

> has 12 grams of carbs! You can't live on that low amount, it's not

healthy!

> And if you mean 12-13 carb exchanges thats way too HIGH, as one exchange

is

> about 25 carbs (if i remember correctly, it may be 15 grams but thats

still

> 180 and high) which would be over 300 carbs a day....which would make your

BG

> levels sky rocket!

>

> Saying eat whatever you want doesn't sound right either. You should try

to

> watch the amount of fat grams, sodium and cholesterol. You wouldn't want

to

> eat too low carb only to become unhealthy from eating too much of

something

> else! There should be balance in what you eat in a day!

>

> I eat 12-30 grams of carbs per meal each day! If i didn't i wouldn't be

> eating anything but lettuce and drinking water. And you really can't live

on

> that!

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

" The USDA, and note that your food pyramid is put out by the folks who care

about farmers, not consumers, is flawed as far as diabetes is concerned. "

Why do health care providers promote it if it's bad for you? Why do they

specifically tell diabetes patients to follow it?

" 1, cut down a lot on potatoes, corn, peas, white rice, and bread.

2, eat more fish (salmon, halibut, tuna)

3, for us carnivores, Chicken 1st, Pork 2nd, and last and least Beef.

4, eat lots of salad and when you are done, eat more! weeds twigs and cardboard

have very few carbs:-) "

Well I am doing these things. What is cardboard?

" 1, yesterday, did you eat 5 servings each of raw fruits and veggies? "

I am crazy about raw veggies and many fruits. I don't think I have a problem

with that, especially with all the salad I eat.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/15/2003 11:19:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,

GlassArtist@... writes:

> I don't know what

> " exchanges " are but if I eat two pieces of bread that come to 23 grams, I

> call it a 1 1/2 carb servings. which is about 180-195 grams a day.

Thats basicaly an exchange. Some diabetics and just dieters use exchanges.

Say they can have 4 fat exchanges a day, for example, that means whatever

equals 1 exchange they can have five of those, such as 1 slice of bacon is

one exchange, 1 pat of butter is another. It's similiar to and basicaly the

same idea as the deal a meal plans where you close windows

when you eat certain foods, or the older plan using cards!

180-195 just seems high for me. I've been told to keep it to about 90 carbs,

if i stray from that my sugars go way up! I've been around 90-140 for the

last few weeks, but when i ate out last week and had way too many nachos

(lots of carbs, going way over my typical 90 or less a day) my reading shot

up to 287!

[Guest guest]

Okay i also double checked the whole how many carbs is one carb

serving/exchange. And it's the smaller number of 15. Now using the diabetic

food pyramid given to me by my doctor it says 6 servings/exchanges of carbs a

day which would be 90 carbs! If instead you go by the number of calories

your doctor has said you should eat in a day it comes down to:

1,200 calories = 75 carbs (5 exchanges)

1,500 calories = 90 carbs (6 exchanges)

1,800 calories = 120 carbs (8 exchanges)

2,000 calories = 135 carbs (9 exchanges)

2,500 calories = 150 carbs (10 exchanges)

So 180-195 carbs a day for a diabetic is based on close to a 2,800 - 3,000

calorie diet. Seeing how it takes 3,500 calories to gain or loose a pound

that doesn't seem right to me as another goal is to loose weight!

My doc initialy asked me to go on the 1,500 calorie plan, a second doctor at

the same practice suggested the 1,200 calorie. So i try to keep my calorie

intake between the two as well as the carb intake!

[Guest guest]

Some have. It's called the 'naked with a sharp stick' diet.

Re: Re: more questions for a newbie

I am not suggesting that we return to a

paleolithic diet but big agricultural business would like us to buy their

products.

[Guest guest]

Please excuse my ignorance of this post but I have got confused.

If I follow a 1,500 cal diet and that equals 90 carbs or 6 exchanges

what is left for protien how do I know how to work that out.

Or do you add your meat to the 90 carbs.

I have been a diabetic for 10 weeks and need to lose weight

desperately. My dr has suggested going on orlistat(xenical) to help

get it down quicker. Any thoughts on this.

Glenda---

>

> 1,200 calories = 75 carbs (5 exchanges)

> 1,500 calories = 90 carbs (6 exchanges)

> 1,800 calories = 120 carbs (8 exchanges)

> 2,000 calories = 135 carbs (9 exchanges)

> 2,500 calories = 150 carbs (10 exchanges)

>

[Guest guest]

Well I've done many diets, including Weight Watchers, and no way does

eating as may carbs as I have been equate to a 2,000 - 2,500 calorie

a day diet. I am counting calories as well as the carbs and I am at

or under 1,500 a day. 1 carb serving can equal an apple at 75

calories or a small bag of chips at 140 calories. I was told to not

go over that amount of carbs and to keep my calorie intake at 1,500 a

day and to watch the fat grams. I know what I'm doing, I just don't

understand the discrepancy in what I've been told and what you are

saying you've been told.

> Okay i also double checked the whole how many carbs is one carb

> serving/exchange. And it's the smaller number of 15. Now using

the diabetic

> food pyramid given to me by my doctor it says 6 servings/exchanges

of carbs a

> day which would be 90 carbs! If instead you go by the number of

calories

> your doctor has said you should eat in a day it comes down to:

>

> 1,200 calories = 75 carbs (5 exchanges)

> 1,500 calories = 90 carbs (6 exchanges)

> 1,800 calories = 120 carbs (8 exchanges)

> 2,000 calories = 135 carbs (9 exchanges)

> 2,500 calories = 150 carbs (10 exchanges)

>

> So 180-195 carbs a day for a diabetic is based on close to a 2,800 -

3,000

> calorie diet. Seeing how it takes 3,500 calories to gain or loose

a pound

> that doesn't seem right to me as another goal is to loose weight!

>

> My doc initialy asked me to go on the 1,500 calorie plan, a second

doctor at

> the same practice suggested the 1,200 calorie. So i try to keep my

calorie

> intake between the two as well as the carb intake!

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

That sounds like a HUGE number of Carbs per day... 13 servings? wow..

I have 1 at breakfast, 2-3 at lunch, 3 at diner... that's 8 total!

Am very surprised at that number?

Steve

> In a message dated 5/15/2003 7:07:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> GlassArtist@w... writes:

>

> > Personally, I'm just following what my dietician told me which

was 12-13

> > carb servings a day. I haven't been doing this long enough to

know if what

> > I'm eating is working. She told me I could eat whatever I wanted

as long

> > as

> > I stayed with that number of carb servings, 1500 calories and

generally

> > followed the pyramid.

>

> When you say 12-13 carb servings a day do you mean just 12-13 grams

of carbs

> a day or 12-13 carb exchanges/servings? If you mean 12-13 total

carbs that

> seems WAY too low, dangerously low.....i've been advised to keep my

carb

> intake to about 75=90 grams a day! Some servings of 1 cup of

veggies alone

> has 12 grams of carbs! You can't live on that low amount, it's not

healthy!

> And if you mean 12-13 carb exchanges thats way too HIGH, as one

exchange is

> about 25 carbs (if i remember correctly, it may be 15 grams but

thats still

> 180 and high) which would be over 300 carbs a day....which would

make your BG

> levels sky rocket!

>

> Saying eat whatever you want doesn't sound right either. You

should try to

> watch the amount of fat grams, sodium and cholesterol. You

wouldn't want to

> eat too low carb only to become unhealthy from eating too much of

something

> else! There should be balance in what you eat in a day!

>

> I eat 12-30 grams of carbs per meal each day! If i didn't i

wouldn't be

> eating anything but lettuce and drinking water. And you really

can't live on

> that!

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Elva,

Boy did you say a mouthfull!

On Fri, 16 May 2003 17:34:23 -0000 " Elva " writes:

Hi there,

I've been battling t2 for 4.5 yrs and so far I am winning! I do a

low carb thing ever since I discovered thru a couple of lists like

this one, that carbs are the bad thing. Sure we need some, but we

really need to back off on starchy foods. I dont eat white bread,

and never did as it tastes like kleenex to me. I dont eat white

rice or potatoes either, if I have rice it's brown, and I have just

a little bit. I can live quite nicely without potatoes, my mother

cooked them every day of my life and I am sick of them! I could

wolf down some fries, but I dont...

The diabetic genius at our local hosp. says that a piece of meat the

size and thickness of the palm of your hand is the right size to

eat. So I try to go by that. We dont eat much red meat at all as

hubby used to have high cholesterol, we eat chicken and turkey and

more fish, rarely do we have pork. We eat tons of salad, I say -

salad is my friend! We eat lots of veggies and some fruit and in

our cupboards you will find sugar free pudding mixes, sf pop, and my

freezer has sf fudgsicles in it.

Start walking, it's easy and cheap. Park the car at the far end of

the parking lot and walk to the store. Walk across town, walk down

your street with the dog, find a friend and walk together. It's a

good way to help lose weight and lower your bg level.

Elva

> Please excuse my ignorance of this post but I have got confused.

> If I follow a 1,500 cal diet and that equals 90 carbs or 6

exchanges

> what is left for protien how do I know how to work that out.

> Or do you add your meat to the 90 carbs.

> I have been a diabetic for 10 weeks and need to lose weight

> desperately. My dr has suggested going on orlistat(xenical) to

help

> get it down quicker. Any thoughts on this.

>

> Glenda---

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/16/2003 10:30:57 AM Eastern Standard Time,

GlassArtist@... writes:

> and no way does

> eating as may carbs as I have been equate to a 2,000 - 2,500 calorie

> a day diet. I am counting calories as well as the carbs and I am at

> or under 1,500 a day.

I'm saying the number of servings that you eat carbs, fruits, veggies, fats,

meat/poultry, and dairy are based on the number of calories you should be

having a day! With a 1,500 calorie diet the number of grain or carb servings

a day is 6 servings or 90 total grams. In the same 1,500 calorie plan you

should be having 2 milk servings, 5 veggie servings, 3 fruit servings, 6 meat

servings, and 5 fat. Thats the food pyramid, saying that it's not just the

calories you should be watching but that you are getting these calories in a

variety of foods...and that you get enough of those foods! So really we

should be watching and counting everything to make sure our diet is balanced

out correctly! 1,500 calories and having the 6 servings of carbs but them no

milk servings or no veggie servings even if the food you eat adds up to 1,500

calories still isn't healthy! You need a proper balance of all food groups!

I'm saying 180-190 carbs a day is off balance with the intake of other needed

foods/nutrients/vitamins/minerals needed to maintain health under a 1,500

calorie diet. If the scale is tipped too much on one side things don't equal

up and your bosy is missing out on other things it needs!

I hope that better explains what i'm getting at! =)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/16/2003 11:23:20 AM Eastern Standard Time,

stevemann60@... writes:

> ... don't know your age but to lose weight you should be

> around 1200 -- 1500 calories per day...

>

> Steve

>

Steve, i know that, what did i say to not give you that inpression? I'm at a

middle ground eating about 1300 calories a day. And i've lost about 13

pounds in 5-6 weeks so far! If you were referring to where i mention 3,500

calories. I was saying that if you need to burn 3,500 calories in order to

loose a pound. So the opposite i would think would be true that 3,500

unburned calories will make you gain a pound!

[Guest guest]

Good

On Sat, 17 May 2003 02:35:43 -0000 " Elva " writes:

,

In a good way or a bad way?

Elva

> Elva,

> Boy did you say a mouthfull!

>

>

>

> On Fri, 16 May 2003 17:34:23 -0000 " Elva " <elva@f...> writes:

> Hi there,

> I've been battling t2 for 4.5 yrs and so far I am winning! I do a

> low carb thing ever since I discovered thru a couple of lists like

> this one, that carbs are the bad thing. Sure we need some, but we

> really need to back off on starchy foods. I dont eat white bread,

> and never did as it tastes like kleenex to me. I dont eat white

> rice or potatoes either, if I have rice it's brown, and I have

just

> a little bit. I can live quite nicely without potatoes, my mother

> cooked them every day of my life and I am sick of them! I could

> wolf down some fries, but I dont...

>

> The diabetic genius at our local hosp. says that a piece of meat

the

> size and thickness of the palm of your hand is the right size to

> eat. So I try to go by that. We dont eat much red meat at all as

> hubby used to have high cholesterol, we eat chicken and turkey and

> more fish, rarely do we have pork. We eat tons of salad, I say -

> salad is my friend! We eat lots of veggies and some fruit and in

> our cupboards you will find sugar free pudding mixes, sf pop, and

my

> freezer has sf fudgsicles in it.

>

> Start walking, it's easy and cheap. Park the car at the far end

of

> the parking lot and walk to the store. Walk across town, walk

down

> your street with the dog, find a friend and walk together. It's a

> good way to help lose weight and lower your bg level.

> Elva

[Guest guest]

Hi again,

One thing that's not been mentioned is the fibre in food. Remember

fibre is non-soluble, your body doesnt use it, it ads bulk, and you

eliminate it. The amount of fibre in a food can be deducted from the

overall carb count. For example if a serving of cereal has 20 grams

of carbs but the amount of fibre is 5 grams, then you subtract those 5

grams and end up at 15 grams net. So always read labels when you shop

and opt for the cereal or bread or whatever that has the highest

amount of fibre in it. It also benefits you by keeping you regular!

There are 15 grams of carbs in a serving of food. Those 15 grams make

one exchange, for those following the exchange plan. I use an overall

low carb approach to my way of eating. Food is nowhere near as much

fun as it used to be, that's for sure, but you adapt because you have to.

I dont always have the bread and milk and fruit for brekkie, sometimes

I have an eggwhite omelet with mushrooms and low fat cheese. Ours is

a low fat sugar free home out of necessity. But the salads and

veggies are a constant! Tonite I had a bbq'd chicken burger but no

bun, and a lot of salad, half a cup of 1% milk and a pear.

Elva

> I think I see what is happening after looking at what

> Elva said she was eating. When I count my carbs I

> count Starches, Fruits and milk products as carb. So

> with a piece of toast and an orange at breakfast I

> would count that as 2 carbs or about 30 grams. At

> lunch the cottage cheese and fruit would be 2 carbs or

> 30 grams. So maybe we just were not talking about the

> same thing. When I count grams any thing from the

> starch groups or from the fruits is about 15 grams and

> milk and milk products count at 12 grams.

> LeAnn

>

[Guest guest]

,

In a good way or a bad way?

Elva

> Elva,

> Boy did you say a mouthfull!

>

>

>

> On Fri, 16 May 2003 17:34:23 -0000 " Elva " <elva@f...> writes:

> Hi there,

> I've been battling t2 for 4.5 yrs and so far I am winning! I do a

> low carb thing ever since I discovered thru a couple of lists like

> this one, that carbs are the bad thing. Sure we need some, but we

> really need to back off on starchy foods. I dont eat white bread,

> and never did as it tastes like kleenex to me. I dont eat white

> rice or potatoes either, if I have rice it's brown, and I have

just

> a little bit. I can live quite nicely without potatoes, my mother

> cooked them every day of my life and I am sick of them! I could

> wolf down some fries, but I dont...

>

> The diabetic genius at our local hosp. says that a piece of meat

the

> size and thickness of the palm of your hand is the right size to

> eat. So I try to go by that. We dont eat much red meat at all as

> hubby used to have high cholesterol, we eat chicken and turkey and

> more fish, rarely do we have pork. We eat tons of salad, I say -

> salad is my friend! We eat lots of veggies and some fruit and in

> our cupboards you will find sugar free pudding mixes, sf pop, and

my

> freezer has sf fudgsicles in it.

>

> Start walking, it's easy and cheap. Park the car at the far end

of

> the parking lot and walk to the store. Walk across town, walk

down

> your street with the dog, find a friend and walk together. It's a

> good way to help lose weight and lower your bg level.

> Elva

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I want to thank everyone for the generous and informative answers to my newbie

questions, especially the apnea-related one! Thanks to Pansy, LeAnn and Infoki.

I am still feeling a bit blindsided by my diagnosis and learning so much each

day. This list has been a lifeline. I love that there are other newbies like

me and the patient wise ones like Mr. LeBlanc and Eunice and , etc.

(Elva, I enjoy your posts, too, but am a lousy cook and recipes bore me to

tears. If it has more than 4 ingredients, I glaze over!)

When I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago, I had a fasting bg level of 311, and a bg

level of 590 two hours after a lean ham sandwich. I am on 2 meds and today

tested at 140. I feel MUCH better! whooo hoooo! I see my nutiotionist next

week to learn more about food.

At this lists recommendation, I headed over to my local bookstore and bought

Diabetes for Dummies and Diabetes Cooking for Dummies. (Just my kind of book!)

The trouble is, I am having a problem with my vision these past few days and

cannot read them. In fact, this keyboard is not too easy to work, either. My

dr. says the vision thing will adjust, but I find it frightening.

Before my diagnosis, I went to an eye dr. and he said I was nearsigted. I got a

nice fancy pair of $300 glasses ( Bros, don't you know!), thinking that at

48, my first pair of glasses were going to be swank! 2 monhs later, these

glasses are obsolete, since now I can see distances clear as a bell, but cannot

see a dang thing in front of me.

I am now wearing a pair of cheap drugstore glasses and can barely see the

monitor.

Can someone reassure me that this is temporary, as my dr. says? How long does

it take for the vision thing to adjust?

oh. One more question. My dr. gave me an Acu Check kit for testing and

sometimes I get lazy and keep the lancet in and reuse it. I was told to always

replace it, but if I am the only one using it, why does it matter if I use a

lancet more than once? Does it affect the readings at all, or is it a sanitary

issue?

many thanks again, in advance!!

Jay in Maine

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Same here, my sight went fuzzy for a couple of weeks. It was not

fun since I had been blessed with excellent vision. But things did

return to normal, so the reading glasses from Costco sit unused.

Have fun

On Wed, 21 May 2003 15:48:21 -0400 " jselber1@... "

writes:

Thanks, Jeannie, for the reassurance. Months, hmm? I just bought a pair

of 2.75 drustore glasses and can finally read again! I will be

patient...

maybe.

Jay

Jay, you sound like me last year. I could hardly operate the computer.

You<BR>

can adjust the size of the lettering, so I had everything at biggest and

I<BR> I bought those cheap drugstore<BR>

glasses to read up close....every prescription, as my vision kept

changing.<BR>

But I loved that, for the first time since I was a kid, I could see far

away<BR>

without the use of glasses. It was great watching TV with no

glasses.<BR>

<BR>

Everybody reassured me that my eyes would return to normal in time, but

I<BR>

must admit I was scared. It's frightening when your eyes don't work.<BR>

Eventually, they did, so I'm now wearing my glasses again and

everything's<BR>

normal. No more TV or<BR>

reading clocks, etc. without glasses. But please try not to

worry...they<BR>

WILL get back to normal. I can't remember how long it took, exactly.

Maybe<BR>

a couple of months. But it seems like an eternity when you can't

see.<BR>

<BR>

Love,<BR>

Jeannie<BR>

--------------------------------------------------------------------

mail2web - Check your email from the web at

http://mail2web.com/ .

[Guest guest]

<<I am now wearing a pair of cheap drugstore glasses and can barely see the

monitor.

Can someone reassure me that this is temporary, as my dr. says? How long

does it take for the vision thing to adjust?>>

Jay, you sound like me last year. I could hardly operate the computer. You

can adjust the size of the lettering, so I had everything at biggest and I

*still* had trouble seeing. My husband, Mike, joked that he could read my

e-mails everytime he walked by! They were that big. Also, it was right in

time for Thanksgiving, so I had a terrible time reading labels on cans. I

walked around with a magnifying glass hanging around my neck. I normally

wear glasses, but they were totally useless. I bought those cheap drugstore

glasses to read up close....every prescription, as my vision kept changing.

But I loved that, for the first time since I was a kid, I could see far away

without the use of glasses. It was great watching TV with no glasses.

Everybody reassured me that my eyes would return to normal in time, but I

must admit I was scared. It's frightening when your eyes don't work.

Eventually, they did, so I'm now wearing my glasses again and everything's

normal. No more TV or

reading clocks, etc. without glasses. But please try not to worry...they

WILL get back to normal. I can't remember how long it took, exactly. Maybe

a couple of months. But it seems like an eternity when you can't see.

Love,

Jeannie

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